How to build community without the central element of place.
An interview with The Wanderlust Group engineer Jenn Grenier Diaz
Before working as a software engineer at The Wanderlust Group, Jenn Grenier Diaz worked in everything from the archaeology field to running logistics for REI’s outdoor experiences across the state of Colorado.
“I usually worked weekends [For REI] and I’d get there at six or 5:30 in the morning, depending if there was snow to shovel. I would make sure the vehicles are ready to go for our instructors before they got in in the morning and then be on call for participants when they got lost and didn’t know where to go.”
There is a rhythm to that kind of logistical work. A discipline of checking each piece of gear and safeguarding against every possibility to make sure there is a place and a plan for everyone. Rock climbing in particular has a unique way of blending individual achievement with a reliance on community. Overseeing logistics, Jenn was a big part of creating that supportive community.
In 2020, the pandemic forced the program she was working in to suspend its outdoor courses temporarily and Jenn found herself on furlough. Needing a next step, she decided to make a change from climbing to coding.
Jenn earned a scholarship to a 16-week coding bootcamp through the Flatiron School and decided to take the leap. “It was definitely scary. It kind of feels like you’re gambling on yourself, but it paid off really well for me.”
She came onboard as a software engineer at The Wanderlust Group after the co-founder and head of engineering reached out to her. Software engineering itself is obviously quite different from onsite logistics, but the other major new experience Jenn had to crack was working remotely out of her Colorado home for a company based on the east coast.
Community has always been important to Jenn. She has a master’s degree in community recreation management, and has taken classes in the ways we define community and culture in our society. To this point, the communities Jenn had been involved with building have always been anchored to a physical place.
In taking this new role at The Wanderlust Group, she would have to figure out in practice if culture and community can be built remotely and digitally. And she’s not the only one.
“Because of the pandemic, we’re all trying to figure out, you know, how do you build community without that central element of place involved. Technology is stepping in and filling in some of that place in a virtual way.”
When it comes to her role in building community through her work as a software engineer, Jenn thinks a lot about accessibility.
“Accessibility is really important to me. I worked in adaptive outdoor recreation and in those experiences got to see how people with disabilities use tech on a daily basis, everything from navigating a grocery store to seeing the landscape when they’re hiking.”
Today, Jenn brings that insight into accessibility to the code she writes and the products on which she works. She’s also led a talk on accessibility with the dev team and teamed up with a colleague Bianca Salomon to start an accessibility discussion group at the company.
“It’s something not everyone learns, whether through a bootcamp or a computer science program, but just small tweaks can really affect the way our users are able to interact with the product.”
One of the first things Jenn implemented at The Wanderlust Group was a language attribute on its biggest site Dockwa.com that would enable screen readers to understand the website and read content with the correct accent.
Accessibility issues can come in an array of forms from physical disabilities, to things like slow internet or different language skills. Because The Wanderlust Group builds technology for outdoor adventurers and destinations, there are also unique accessibility issues. “There’s also other things to consider,” Jenn says. “Like how is the screen going to look if you’re outside vs inside. How is a user pulling up their phone on their boat going to see this.” Together with her team, Jenn is working to address them all.
Community is a hard thing to define and its definition is evolving rapidly in today’s collective experience. For Jenn though, whether onsite or digital, in-person or remote, community is essential. And it begins with understanding and inclusion.
